Shampoo's Day
by Imai Kazuya
Summary: They say everyone deserves a little love, so why can't Shampoo have some. What's that? Ranma's having second thoughts about Akane? What does that mean for Shampoo? RanmaxShampoo
1. Chapter 1

**This is a story that picked at the back of my mind until I finally put it to paper, so to speak.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Ranma 1/2 or any other things I may use.**

It was a normal day in Nerima, if you consider such things as a randomly flying kendoist or gender-swapping martial artists normal. But for Nerima, such things were, unfortunately, normal. But our story revolves around the struggle of a girl to catch the attention of her man. Which girl, you might ask?

Why Shampoo of course!

~Tendo Dojo~

"Boy, it's time to WAKE UP!" Saotome Genma yelled before drop kicking his son Ranma out the window. He landed with a resounding splash in the small koi pond conveniently located just outside. The now redhead glared up at her father, wishing him many painful and humiliating deaths.

"Oyaji! How many times do you have to do this!" Genma laughed at Ranma's question and jumped down to the edge of the pond to taunt him.

"M'boy, a martial artist has got to be ready at all times!" Ranma glared one more time at him before jumping over his head and kicking him into the pond. Genma rose from the pond with a growl and whipped up a sign, "_How dare you!_"

"That's what ya get for underestimating me Oyaji!" Ranma rubbed the side of her nose confidently. She was about to say more, but Kasumi chose that moment to announce her presence to the both of them.

"Ranma-kun, Saotome-san, breakfast is ready!" Ranma grinned widely at the mention of food and bounced over to the table and waited patiently. Her father grumbled under his breath and lumbered over to sit next to his daughter. Slowly the rest of the Tendo family trickled in and breakfast began.

Once breakfast was finished, Ranma noticed Akane slipping into the kitchen. Paling at the thought of her home-cooked meals, she quickly decided that then was a good time to leave for school. Splashing herself with warm water, he then took to the rooftops to avoid getting splashed by the old woman who somehow always managed to get him.

Ranma arrived in class and put his head down to take a small catnap. He was later awoken violently by Akane attempting to turn his head to paste with a bento. "You forgot your bento, Ranma."

Ranma chuckled uneasily and shook his head, "Sorry Akane, I'll take it now," '_If only so I can chuck it out later and say I ate it_'. Akane gave him a look of suspicion, but eventually decided nothing of it and took her seat. '_Whew, almost thought she was onto me there_' thought Ranma.

When the lunch bell rang, Ranma sat up and stretched, yawning as he did so. He grabbed the deadly bento and headed out to his usual spot in a tree outside, pausing to dump the contents of the bento in a trash bin. He got to the tree and was about to hop up into its branches when his stomach chose that moment to make itself heard. He winced and looked around, sighing slightly.

"Geez, I try not to hurt Akane's feelings, and what to I get for it? An empty stomach, that's what. Maybe it's not worth it anymore. Not like I'm going to tell her that, don't want a free ticket on Air Akane."

He hopped up into the tree and nearly fell back out again in shock. Sitting where he usually did was Shampoo, who looked nearly as startled as he did.

"Uh, hello Shampoo."

"Nihao Airen."

An uncomfortable silence stretched between the two for quite a while before Ranma spoke up again. "Umm, what were you doing up here Shampoo? Don't you have work to do at the Nekohaten?"

"Shampoo on lunch break, thought Airen want some ramen." It was then that Ranma noticed the delivery box leaning against the trunk.

"Really? Thanks so much Shampoo, I thought I was going to starve!" He took the offered bowl and chopsticks and was about to dig in, then paused. "You didn't spike this with anything did you? Any instant-love potions or the like?" Shampoo shook her head, slightly hurt that Ranma would think that of her.

"Okay then! Itadakimasu!" Ranma tore into the ramen with reckless abandon, though he made sure not to waste a single drop. When he was finished he sat back against the tree trunk, forgetting that Shampoo was leaning against it too. "Man, that hit the spot." He turned to look at Shampoo and suddenly noticed how close they were. He backpedaled right off the branch and hit the ground hard.

"Airen!" Shampoo jumped down next to Ranma, worried, "You okay?" Ranma sat up rubbing his head slightly and nodded to her. "Good! You go on date with Shampoo then?" He nodded, and then realized what he just did. "Aiya! This too too good! Shampoo go get ready now! Airen pick Shampoo up at 8!" Shampoo then ran off, squealing to herself.

Ranma blinked at the spot she had just vacated and uttered a single word.

"Shit."


	2. Chapter 2

**I'm not the best author, but I do my best with what I got. I only started watching the series last month, still on season 6, so I haven't gotten all their personalities down yet.**

**Anywho, as for my reviewers...**

**Nysk: Thanks, that means a lot to me.**

**Tellemicus Sundance: Wow, never thought I'd catch your attention with one of my fanfics... you're one of my biggest inspirations. Yeah, it's a little OOC, but I'm trying my best. I'll do my best to improve and meet your standards.**

**Major Mike Powell III: Are you related to someone I know in real life, cause I know a girl in my guitar class with the last name Powell. Meh, but that's beside the point, I determined to only get better from this point onwards. I hope I don't disappoint.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Ranma 1/2 or anything else I may use.**

**CHAPTER 2**

"Ranma-kun, how could you do this to poor Akane!" Soun Tendo cried rivers of tears as he looked at Ranma who had dressed up at Nabiki's insistence that he at least look good.

"Look, it's not like I wanted to go, she tricked me into it! And I will never go back on my word, my honor depends on it!"

Soun's tears dried up instantly. "Then you'll go on a date with Akane tomorrow to make it up to her!"

Akane, who had just walked in hit her father in the back of his head with her bookbag. "Like hell otousan! Like I want to go out with a pervert like him!"

"That's good to hear, cause I didn't want to go out with a tomboy like you anyhow!"

"What did you say?!"

"You heard me! I wouldn't want to date a macho, uncute tomboy like…" Ranma would have continued there, but was sent flying first class via Air Akane. As he sailed through the air, he got into a comfortable position and thought about a few things.

He then voiced his thoughts, "Why do I even stick around a tomboy like her anyhow? It's not like she treats me right, hell, she won't even listen to me half the time! The other half she's sending me flying like now! I'd be better off just shrugging off all those engagement Oyaji set up, but no. He has to say that it's my duty to honor all those engagements, but he only wants me to marry that tomboy so he can loaf around all day!"

Shrugging at his lazy father, he noticed that the ground was rapidly approaching. He hit the ground with a resounding crash and blacked out from the impact.

He awoke soon to hearing familiar voices; he evened out his breathing and tried to listen into them. He noticed that one of them had sent the other out. "You can stop pretending Son-in-Law, I know you're awake." Giving up the ghost, he opened his eyes and sat up. He took in that he was in one of the backrooms of the Café and focused his eyes on Cologne, aka the old ghoul.

"Son-in-Law, Shampoo found you buried in the pavement outside. You really had her worried. Did that girl do that to you?" Having a vague idea who she meant, he nodded. "I thought so, why don't you just marry Shampoo and get away from her?"

Ranma chuckled slightly, "As tempting as that sounds, I'm going to have to turn you down old ghoul. I couldn't get out of that arrangement even if I tried."

It was Cologne's turn to laugh, and laugh she did. "Son-in-Law, did it never occur to you to simply cut ties with your father? That way, all those deals he made without your permission will technically never have happened!" Ranma shook his head and got out of the bed. He walked over to a stack of his clothes and slid his Chinese vest on over his undershirt and slipped his slacks back on.

As he finished getting dressed, the door opened and Shampoo walked in. When she noticed that he was up and about, he walked over to him. "Airen, you okay? Shampoo bet Violent Girl hurt Ranma. Shampoo right?"

"Yeah, I'm alright now. Yeah, Akane did that to me, but no, ya can't go after her right now." Shampoo looked up at Ranma in confusion, thinking he was going to let Akane get away with it. "After all, I owe you a date, don't I? You may have tricked me into it, but a promise is a promise." Shampoo broke out into a wide grin and nodded quickly.

It was then that Ranma noticed what Shampoo was wearing. He stared for quite a while and took in the contours of her body. She was wearing a simple red low-cut Chinese dress and had forgone the usual buns in her hair, settling for a simple free-flowing look. She had very little make-up on, and in Ranma's secret opinion, she didn't need much anyway.

Blushing, Ranma looked away and muttered, "You look nice Shampoo," which earned hoots of laughter from Cologne. They both ignored her as Shampoo looked at her blushing husband.

"Airen think so?"

"Yeah, I mean nicer than usual. No, I mean you look cute. I mean…"

"Shampoo understand, Ranma like how Shampoo look." Ranma nodded, not trusting his mouth. Cologne quickly pushed them out of the restaurant before they could provide her with any more entertainment.

Ranma glanced at Shampoo one more time, then quickly turned his head away and cleared his throat. "So Shampoo, didja have any place in mind?"

Shampoo shook her head and latched onto his arm, sighing contentedly. "Shampoo no care. As long as Shampoo with Airen, Shampoo happy." Ranma panicked for a second, and looked around, half expecting Moose to come out of nowhere and yell to keep his hands off Shampoo. Not seeing him anywhere nearby, and grateful not to have any disruptions, Ranma looked around again, this time for something for them to do.

"Shampoo, how about we go to the park? Ya know, watch the sunset?" Shampoo nodded her head and they both set off for the nearest park, passing by Ryoga. Ryoga turned his head and watched the two walk off.

"Has Ranma finally given up on Akane? This is my chance! But if Ranma made Akane cry by doing…" Ryoga continued on his little spiel, but no one was around to hear him.

Continuing back ahead to Ranma and Shampoo, Ranma felt a little uncomfortable with all the stares of those people returning home. Turning his head back to Shampoo, he saw that she had no intention of letting go of him anytime soon. Deciding that it was best to ignore them for the good of the date, he focused his attention on the road.

It wasn't much longer until they reached the park. Looking around briefly, Ranma saw a bench facing the sunset with a clear view and led Shampoo over to it. Plopping himself comfortably next to her, he sat and watched the sun sink slowly lower, blissfully unaware of Shampoo staring at him. It wasn't until she grabbed his hand that he noticed her staring. She leaned into him and gazed out at the sunset, content to share this moment with him. Ranma looked around and noticed another couple that looked to be doing the same. He did notice that the guy had his arm around the girl though, and thought it was right to do the same with Shampoo.

Sliding his free arm around her, missing the faint blush on her cheeks and soft gasp that escaped her lips, he relaxed as best he could and hoped for the best. They remained that way until the sun had set completely and the park lights turned on. Ranma reluctantly, as he had enjoyed the female contact that rarely ended peacefully, disengaged himself from Shampoo and stood up. He offered his hand to Shampoo, who took it gracefully and stood.

Ranma rubbed the back of his neck and stared at Shampoo for a second before remembering what he meant to do next. "Um, sorry if this wasn't exactly what ya expected Shampoo." Shampoo shook her head, placed one finger on Ranma's lips and smiled coyly at him.

"Shampoo just happy that Ranma care about Shampoo enough to date for real." Ranma blushed slightly, glad that it was too dark to see it and shook his head.

"Nah Shampoo, I enjoyed myself. It was relaxing to not get ambushed, though I do wonder where Moose is. I thought he woulda done somethin by now?"

Shampoo smirked and replied, "Great-Grandmother lock Moose in cage in back of Café." Ranma too smirked at the mental image of Moose quacking up a storm and Cologne just laughing at him.

"Well, maybe it's time to bring ya back to the Café. It is getting kinda late isn't it?" Shampoo nodded and settled for holding Ranma's hand, having gotten her fill snuggling up next to him earlier. The walk back was relatively peaceful, only being mildly attacked once or twice by some random fanboy. When they returned to the Nekohaten, Ranma reluctantly let go of her hand, having been fascinated by how soft and right it felt.

"Well Shampoo, I guess I'll see ya later then." Shampoo nodded emphatically and stared down at the ground. "Is something wrong Shampoo?" She shook her head and looked back up at Ranma, biting her lip. "Well, I guess I'll be going now…" It was then that Shampoo made her decision. Running forward and grabbing Ranma's hand, she gave him a brief peck on the lips. She paused for a moment before running inside the Café. Ranma stood there dazed for a while, slowly blinking his way back to reality. Raising his fingers to his lips, he jumped up to the rooftops, only to miss and run headfirst into a lightpole.

Staggering backwards, he made his way back to the Tendo Dojo, all the while wondering if he should do that again.

**AN**

**Okay, I think I'm failing somewhere with representing the Tendo family. I'll definately need to work on that.**

**Review please, I can only get better if you tell me what I'm doing wrong!**


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